'Individualistic' Boilermakers fall at Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Lately, the Boilermakers aren’t scoring down the stretch.

And for the second straight game, an extended drought cost Purdue an opportunity for a win. Like in the loss to Ohio State on Sunday, when the Boilermakers scored only two points in the last five minutes, they suffered against Indiana, scoring only four in the same span. The result was a 74-60 loss Thursday night in Assembly Hall.

Part of the Boilermakers’ problem, Coach Sharon Versyp thought afterward, was that they were too individualistic. A season-low tying eight assists helped prove her point.

“We were independent contractors tonight,” Versyp said. “… You have to execute, you have to set screens and if something doesn’t work, you can’t bail out, you’ve got to keep going through things. You’ve got to see where something is available.”

Purdue (12-8 overall, 3-3 in the Big Ten) couldn’t do that in the fourth quarter, particularly in the last five minutes. After Ashley Morrissette’s three-pointer at the 4:22 mark, which brought the Boilermakers to within five, the Hoosiers (13-6, 3-3) ended the game on a 10-1 run.

In that four-plus-minute streak, Purdue had two turnovers and missed three jumpers, while failing to get the ball inside, which had been its offensive go-to when it had battled to a tie during the third quarter.

“We’re getting plays from Coach and we’re just not executing. We’re doing our own thing,” said Morrissette, Purdue’s only double-figure scorer with 17 points. “I think we definitely need to get the ball inside more down the stretch, because Dom (McBryde), you couldn’t stop her down there.”

It was McBryde who had jump-started the Boilermakers in the third quarter, helping them rally from a four-point halftime deficit, 32-28, to a 44-all tie with 3:40 left in the third.

During those six-plus minutes, the sophomore scored seven of her nine, helping to spur a 6-0 stretch that tied the game. In the third, the Boilermakers scored all of their points either from the paint or the line, hitting 7-of-13 from the field and four of their five free throws.

But it was a total reversal in the fourth, when Purdue’s field goals were exclusively jumpers.

“We decided we were going to have to give them a healthy diet of man, then going to zone, then back to man, then to zone, just to try to keep them off-balance as best as we could,” IU coach Teri Moren said.

The Hoosiers, meanwhile, found space inside, with center Jenn Anderson scoring six of IU’s first eight points in the fourth, extending the lead to a then-game-high 10.

Anderson and reserve post Kym Royster combined for 24 points, 18 of which came in the second half.

“Those two post players hurt,” said McBryde, who had nine points and 11 rebounds. “… They did well finishing.”

The Boilermakers briefly rallied, getting triples from Andreona Keys and Morrissette, the latter bringing them within five with about four-and-a-half minutes left. But that was it.

“We really just need to focus on finishing down the stretch and toward the end of the game,” McBryde said. “Toward the end of non-conference and the beginning of Big Ten, we were doing fine with that. These last couple games, we haven’t been doing that as well, or doing that at all, and we need to get back to that.”

The Hoosiers, who won on the boards and held Purdue to only five offensive rebounds, shot 50 percent from the floor, including the interior-dominant fourth, when they were 9-of-12. Forward Amanda Cahill, who suffered a bit of a scare in the first half when she turned an ankle, finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Point guard Tyra Buss had 18 points and eight assists. Royster had 14 in only 12 minutes off the bench, while Anderson added 10.

Purdue had half as many assists (eight) as turnovers and shot only 42.3 percent. Keys scored nine. Freshman Lamina Cooper scored seven points in six first-quarter minutes, helping Purdue to a 17-11 advantage after the first 10 minutes.

But the Hoosiers rallied in the second quarter by hitting 60-percent of their shots.

“The first half we were pretty flat,” Versyp said. “We weren’t quick getting to the ball, really weren’t in a stance defensively, and obviously you can’t do that in the Big Ten any time, doesn’t matter who you are playing. And when you have a rivalry like this, the intensity should be at a higher level.”

The Hoosiers, who win the only meeting between the two instate schools this season, are now 3-3 in the last six meetings, IU’s best stretch since it won three in a row in the late 90s.

“I just think it’s a great rivalry,” said Moren, a former Purdue player. “I have a lot of respect for the job that Sharon is doing and has done, the kids in her program and the way she runs her program. Very much respect for them.

“… But it’s exciting for us to kind of level that out.”

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